Pelargonium zonale. 
xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99.
The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of geranium, botanically known as Pelargonium zonale, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99.
xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 is a product of a planned breeding program which had the objective of creating new geranium varieties with magenta to purple flower color, medium green foliage in combination with medium to tall plant habit.
xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 originated from a hybridization made by the inventor Angelika Utecht in a controlled breeding program in Galdar, Gran Canaria, Spain, in 1996. The female parent was a hybrid seedling, no. K94-1960-1, having purple-pink, single-type flowers, large inflorescences, dark-green foliage, with only very weak zonation, and medium sized, but somewhat open and irregular plant habit. The male parent of xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 was the patented variety xe2x80x98HWD Violettaxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,748), characterized by red-purple, semi-double flowers, medium green foliage with slight zonation, and medium sized plant habit.
xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 was selected as one flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross by Angelika Utecht in 1997, in a controlled environment in Galdar, Gran Canaria, Spain. The first act of asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 was accomplished when vegetative cuttings were taken from the initial selection in the fall of 1997, in a controlled environment in Galdar, Gran Canaria, Spain, by, or under the supervision of, Angelika Utecht.
Horticultural examination of plants grown from cuttings of the plant initiated in May 1998, in Hillscheid, Federal Republic of Germany, and continuing thereafter, has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true to type.
xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and day length. The following observations, measurements, and comparisons describe plants grown in Hillscheid, Germany, and in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, under greenhouse conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial practice.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 in combination distinguish this geranium as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Round, deep cherry-red colored flowers;
2. Medium sized, semi-spherically shaped umbels borne well above the foliage;
3. Medium green foliage with slight zonation on young leaves;
4. Moderately vigorous growth, medium to tall, lowly mounded plant habit, and
5. Early to medium season spring flowering response.
Of the many commercial cultivars known to the present inventor, the most similar in comparison to xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 is the variety xe2x80x98Fispurplexe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,368), the parental cultivar xe2x80x98HWD Violettaxe2x80x99 and the related, cultivar xe2x80x98Fisromagxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/991,976).
In comparison to xe2x80x98Fispurplexe2x80x99, xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 has similarly shaped flowers and umbels, but the flower color is a less bluish hue, and unlike with xe2x80x98Fispurplexe2x80x99, there are small, deep-red macules. Furthermore, xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 grows somewhat more vigorously than xe2x80x98Fispurplexe2x80x99.
In comparison to xe2x80x98HWD Violettaxe2x80x99, xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 has a deeper red, less bluish hue of flower color, small markings on petals, in contrast to xe2x80x98HWD Violettaxe2x80x99, and weaker zonation on leaves.
In comparison to xe2x80x98Fisromagxe2x80x99, the flower color of xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 is a more reddish, less bluish hue, and xe2x80x98Fisroyalxe2x80x99 grows somewhat more vigorously.